March 31, 2025 • 27 mins
Learn how companies can evolve their philanthropy in a divided political climate while staying true to their values.
Most companies in 2025 are focusing their social efforts on economic opportunity and education, according to The Conference Board C-Suite Outlook 2025. How is corporate philanthropy changing, especially with the rise of AI and the backlash against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives?
Join Steve Odland and guest Jeff Hoffman, Acting ESG Center Leader at The Conference Board, to find out how companies can avoid scattershot giving, .css-j9qmi7{display:-webkit-box;display:-webkit-flex;display:-ms-flexbox;display:flex;-webkit-flex-direction:row;-ms-flex-direction:row;flex-direction:row;font-weight:700;margin-bottom:1rem;margin-top:2.8rem;width:100%;-webkit-box-pack:start;-ms-flex-pack:start;-webkit-justify-content:start;justify-content:start;padding-left:5rem;}@media only screen and (max-width: 599px){.css-j9qmi7{padding-left:0;-webkit-box-pack:center;-ms-flex-pack:center;-webkit-justify-content:center;justify-content:center;}}.css-j9qmi7 svg{fill:#27292D;}.css-j9qmi7 .eagfbvw0{-webkit-align-items:center;-webkit-box-align:center;-ms-flex-align:center;align-items:center;color:#27292D;}Mark as PlayedTranscript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Steve Odland (00:00):
Welcome to C-Suite Perspectives, a signature
(00:02):
series by The Conference Board.
I'm Steve Odland from The ConferenceBoard and the host of this podcast series.
And in today's discussion, we're goingto talk about corporate philanthropy.
Does it result in meaningful,lasting social impact?
What is it?
Why do people do it?
And joining me today, an experton corporate philanthropy, is Jeff
(00:23):
Hoffman, who's the interim ESG Centerleader here at The Conference Board
and formerly an executive with Disney.
Jeff, welcome.
Jeff Hoffman (00:32):
Hello, Steve.
Happy to be here with you today.
Steve Odland (00:35):
I'm so happy that you're here.
And this whole area of, we said corporatephilanthropy, but it's really under
a broader umbrella of CSR, corporatesocial responsibility, corporate
citizenship, corporate philanthropy.
These are all kind of interchangeableterms, but can you help us
ground us in those terms to beginwith, and what means what here?
Jeff Hoffman (00:57):
Good.
Your guess is as good as mine.
I'm actually kidding on that.
But it is .a challenge.
So many of the roles and titleswithin corporations are very clear.
If you're the chief communicationsofficer, you know what that role is.
If you're the chief human resourcesofficer, you know what that role is.
(01:20):
But with corporate social responsibility,corporate citizenship, philanthropy,
social impact, community relations,it goes on and on, different
companies define it in different ways.
But as you introduce us withcorporate philanthropy, I think
that's probably the clearest.
It's our root.
(01:40):
The Conference Board has been involvedwith corporate philanthropy and helping
companies since 1943, during World War II.
And it has broadened since then,basically, to symbolize the work that the
company does in society, whether it be inthe communities where its employees live
(02:02):
and work, where the operations are, butreally how it works to create a better
surrounding, a better neighborhood,for those in the areas it serves.
Steve Odland (02:16):
Yeah.
It's essentially, when you think of theseroles in companies, and you mentioned
that they're all sort of different titles,they're all external-facing, right?
Jeff Hoffman (02:25):
Correct.
Steve Odland (02:25):
And so if you think about the multiple constituency
world—customers, employees, owners,community environment—it's not the chief
customer role, it's not the chief employeerole, it's not the chief owner role, but
it's really the chief external-facingrole as it relates to community
and the environment, essentially.
Jeff Hoffman (02:46):
Correct.
Yeah.
Steve Odland (02:48):
And so how do these people think about the strategy of
the corporation—and every industryand corporation is different and has a
different customer focus and so forth.
How do you think about that strategyversus your external CSR strategy?
Jeff Hoffman (03:06):
Yeah.
It's a good question.
And most, and I will say most, companiestoday tend to align their community
strategy with their business strategy,which often ties into what their
products are, their goods and services,what are their core competencies.
Philanthropy is so much morethan just writing a check
(03:28):
to a nonprofit or a charity.
It's how you bring the whole company intothe community to help be a problem solver.
If you look at, you mentioned my 30years at Disney, just in the simplest
term, the core ideas for Disney arefamilies, and it's about bringing families
together and having magical experiences.
(03:51):
But using that core competency tohelp children in need, and sometimes,
these are sick children with horriblediseases that they are fighting.
How can Disney help put a smile on achild's face, which actually ties into
the psychosocial aspect of healing?
And you can look at that withjust about any type of company.
(04:13):
What can they bring to the table?
I think of one of our members who is inthe insurance business, and the stability
and the work that they're doing aroundintergenerational wealth in communities
and insurance and life insurance.
And this particular piececan be a part of that.
(04:36):
Something that they have the expertiseto do that other companies don't.
You're most effective, I think, when youactually do align your community work
with your business strategy and values.
Steve Odland (04:49):
Now, some companies have people on staff that
are somewhere in the business,somewhere in the organization.
Others have a separate501(c)(3) foundation that
they've set up to manage this.
Do you have a point of viewon best practices there?
Jeff Hoffman (05:06):
Yeah, I do.
Foundations, corporate foundations, wereestablished in the '50s, when there was
a change in regulations about for-profitcompanies being able to give profits away.
Long story—I will save you that—but agood portion of companies today, even
(05:28):
that have foundations, primarily dotheir giving through corporate dollars.
It gives you a lot more flexibility out inthe world, especially if you want to tie
your giving to actual company initiatives.
There's something called self-dealingthat those with foundations have to worry
(05:49):
about to ensure that anything that they'redoing through the foundation does not
inure benefit back to the company itself.
So to avoid that, using corporate dollarsgives you more flexibility with what I
was talking about—how you can combine yourcore competency with those giving dollars
and then plus your employee volunteering.
(06:11):
Versus if it comes through thefoundation, you have to have an arm's
length distance from the company onhow you talk about it, which can be a
challenge, depending on what solutionsyou're working to solve in the community.
Steve Odland (06:26):
Yeah.
So you really start with, it soundslike, with the corporate strategy in mind.
Jeff Hoffman (06:34):
Yes.
Steve Odland (06:34):
And then link that and interweave that
into your community approach.
Now, what trends, you mentioned acouple, but what other trends do you see
here in 2025 for corporate philanthropy?
Jeff Hoffman (06:46):
I think the big thing is, The Conference Board overall
does the C-Suite Outlook every year.
And at the very end of the year in ourcorporate citizenship work with our
members and CSR executives, we do apulse check on what they're seeing, both
in society and in the business of whatthe year ahead is going to look like.
(07:12):
And interestingly the two matchedas far as the question of, what
social areas does the company planto focus on in the coming year?
And one was economic opportunity,and the other was education.
So when you talk about thatalignment, I'm always very pleased
to see when these two things arealigning versus being divergent.
Steve Odland (07:37):
Yeah.
And this kind of comes under theheadline, sometimes, of DEI, which
is diversity, equity, and inclusion,because some of the corporate
philanthropy is focused on areas thatare linked to a company's DEI strategy.
Now there's been a hugeamount of recent DEI pushback.
How is that impactingcorporate philanthropy?
Jeff Hoffman (08:01):
Quite a bit, because even though, in the simplest terms,
DE&I tends to be focused moreinternally and corporate citizenship
externally, there is a crossover area.
And then you do have theemployee volunteering piece.
And sometimes how, within the DE&Ispace, the employee resource groups,
(08:23):
oftentimes as groups, will govolunteer in the community based on
what the subject matter is or thefocus of that employee resource group.
So there is some crossover area.
I think when we take the buzzwordsout, and this is where I think focusing
(08:43):
on the economic opportunity, of whicheducation is a piece, along with a
lot of other components to it, isa way to take the buzzwords out and
really to continue to focus and helpin the communities where you operate
in and where your employees live in.
The makeup of thosecommunities is all different.
(09:06):
So basically, we're helping tofloat all boats at this point.
So it is still, in the long run,helping those who need it most
without targeting a specific group.
Steve Odland (09:21):
Yeah, now there's also been geographic shifts, I think.
The rule of thumb for a long time hasbeen that the majority of corporate
giving should be in the communitywhere the headquarters is or where
the predominance of employees are.
Then it shifted for a while to bea distributed approach to try to
hit as many communities as possible,wherever people have manufacturing
(09:44):
plants or any kind of a presence.
But, as companies get bigger,it's really hard to sprinkle
that and get any kind of impact.
What are the current trends on this?
Jeff Hoffman (09:55):
Do less, not necessarily resource-wise, but instead of a
scattershot approach to organizationsin a community, even in your
corporate headquarters, what arethe organizations that you, because
of your core competencies, canhelp make the biggest impact on?
(10:17):
And then, that's in headquarterswhere you have major operations.
I think where it gets challenging iswhen you are a major multinational
corporation, you have employeesspread out all over the world.
You might have tens of thousands ofpeople in certain centralized spots.
But then you might have an office in,pick a country, with five people in it.
(10:41):
Obviously, you aren't going to havea full-time staff person focusing
on the community when you only havefive people in the entire country.
And this is where the employeevolunteerism piece can come
in in volunteering grants.
So basically, then it is supportingthose employees in the work in
the community where normallyyou would not have a presence.
(11:04):
The other piece I want to mentionon what you said, and this is also a
challenge because, if you look at thestakeholders that you mentioned—obviously,
the employees are huge in thecommunities, the consumer—is how do you
demonstrate that you're a good corporatecitizenship to the consumer where you
(11:28):
actually have zero operating presencein the area where those consumers are?
And that's where some of the nationaland the global initiatives that might
have very physical execution in areaswhere you have a lot of employees, but
yet, because of a national relationshipwith an organization—take Boys and
(11:51):
Girls Clubs of America, for instance—youcan still demonstrate that you are
caring, even though you might notbe supporting a specific club in the
neighborhood where you have customers.
Steve Odland (12:05):
We're hearing that a lot of companies are pivoting on their corporate
philanthropy in this environment.
You can't disaggregate thesocial environment from
the political environment.
The Conference Board is totallynonpolitical, nonpartisan, of course.
But we are, in this country, we'rea divided country, roughly half
and half in terms of our views.
(12:26):
We've just gone through an election, andyou've got a lot of change happening.
How do you see companies reacting tothis sort of changed environment as it
relates to their corporate philanthropy?
Jeff Hoffman (12:39):
It's a tough one, Steve.
That's where, a lot of your podcastsand what we're seeing come out of The
Conference Board, is staying true toyour values, but at the same time,
being pragmatic with what's happeningon the world and knowing that you do
have various stakeholders that you needto address their issues and concerns.
(13:02):
And I think that's where, whether it'sgoing back to say, something such as
economic opportunity, is how you goabout doing things in the communities
that would be more central or lesscontroversial in this divided world.
And there are certainly ways of doing itwhere you're staying true to who you are.
(13:25):
But yet, knowing that thereare issues that, if you do this
particular issue, you're going tohave people against you or vice versa.
And I don't think we want to get tothe point where people are thinking
of companies as a Red company or aBlue company versus a company that is
providing goods and services for everyone.
(13:46):
Again, I think if you stay to yourcore competency and the work that
you do through your philanthropy,it will help guide you to stay away
from the areas on either side thatcould be viewed as controversial.
Steve Odland (14:01):
Yeah.
So I think, the watchword here is caution,and be aware of what's happening in the
external environment, and make sure thatyour strategies are constantly updated
and consistent with your core values ofyour organization, but not inconsistent
with what's happening out there.
Jeff Hoffman (14:19):
Yep.
Yep.
Absolutely.
Steve Odland (14:22):
Yeah.
We're talking about corporatephilanthropy in 2025.
We're going to take a shortbreak and be right back.
Welcome back to C-Suite Perspectives.
I'm your host, Steve Odland, from TheConference Board, and I'm joined today
by Jeff Hoffman, who is the interimESG leader at The Conference Board.
You're an interim leader here, butyou've been a leader in corporate
(14:43):
philanthropy and citizenship for decadesand decades, Jeff, so no better expert
to talk about this kind of stuff.
Now, we were talking aboutpivoting in the new year to stay
to your values, stay true to yourcorporate strategies, but also, be
aware of the external environment.
What do you see as the mostimpactful emerging approaches for
(15:07):
driving societal impact in 2025?
Jeff Hoffman (15:10):
AI.
We talk a lot about AI.
There are excitingopportunities for companies.
We often look at AI.
It can also be a scary new tool.
But let me give you a couple ofexamples where AI are helping companies
to be smarter about their giving.
(15:31):
Credit card companies, for instance.
Credit card companies,they have a lot of data.
And when you aggregate that, soyou're taking away, putting aside
any concerns on privacy, theyknow who is buying what, where.
And what we're finding is again,when we talk about economic
(15:54):
opportunity, food security iscertainly one of the pillars in that.
You can tell where people arebuying food and how far away
it is from where they live.
So you can actually determine, usingAI and going through all of the data,
determine what we call food deserts.
(16:17):
And this provides an opportunity,whether is, oh, we have food banks
that are next to supermarkets—notsaying that they don't, they're
still serving a need—versus puttinga food bank in what is a food desert.
Or is there an opportunity fora supermarket chain to actually
(16:41):
go in and establish in thatcommunity and meet a need?
And then it goes to the economicopportunity aspect, too, because it's
providing goods and services to wherethe consumer is in areas that, sometimes,
companies might not have thought asviable customers from a spend perspective.
(17:03):
So that's just one example.
With AI, we've also seen it in thingssuch as prenatal care and care with
infants, as far as areas where thingsthat often you might take for granted.
For the mother, as soon as the mother'sgiven birth and what the new infant
(17:25):
needs, you're seeing where thoseproducts are not being purchased.
Or even, in a regional area, and thenwhen you look at it from a health
standpoint, it's OK, in order toensure that these infants are going
to grow into being healthy toddlers,children, and then adults, this is
(17:48):
an area that needs to be addressed.
So I think that's just two examplesright now of how AI—often, companies have
lots of data to address certain issues.
And one of the big things that wetalk about these days is, obviously,
we talk about money, we talk aboutgiving product, and all of that.
(18:08):
But the other thing is, how do youdonate aggregated data to help address
issues that are out there—again, makingsure, we're all concerned about privacy,
that we do this through a privacy lens.
Steve Odland (18:25):
It's interesting because some companies believe that their
philanthropy needs to be direct to theend user, the end consumer, the end need.
Others say no, you should really gothrough intermediaries, 501(c)(3s), not
for profits who are closer to the needand the community and the expertise.
And part of the reason for that was thatthey didn't really have a great way to
(18:49):
get to and manage down to the end need.
But what I hear you saying is, with AIthere, that might be an easier task now.
But do you have a point of viewon that, going direct versus
going through intermediaries?
Jeff Hoffman (19:03):
I do, and it's because of taxes.
If you give to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit,one, it's a tax deduction for the company.
But if you give directly toindividuals, one, you aren't
getting a tax deduction for it.
It may or may not be a business expense,depending on how you look at it.
(19:27):
But for the individual receiving it,there are tax implications for that, and
it can be viewed as income by the IRS.
And probably the best examplethat we often hear about is
when there are disasters.
And is the disaster declared by thepresident as a national disaster?
(19:50):
Or sadly, does your house burn downin the middle of the street, not
part of a bigger disaster situation?
Not to say that we want tosee the big fires that happen
out there or other disasters.
But yet, when it's a federal disaster,you can give aid directly to an
individual without that tax implicationversus, sadly, if your house just burns
(20:15):
down on its own, you better be goingthrough an intermediary organization, or
you're going to be paying taxes on thatgift that you receive from a company.
Steve Odland (20:27):
OK, so it sounds like it still is the right way to go, even
with AI, through these not for profits.
But that means that you really needto be thinking through partnerships
rather than waiting until somethinghappens and then trying to ring
up a not for profit, correct?
Jeff Hoffman (20:48):
Yeah.
And there are really goodorganizations out there.
In fact, one of the organizationswe're partnering with for the upcoming
Corporate Responsibility Summit, that'swhat they do, not only in the United
States, but they do this around the world.
And they are experimentingmore with the direct payment
(21:09):
option, which is interesting.
Steve Odland (21:12):
Tell us more about that.
Jeff Hoffman (21:14):
There's a thought that when you're trying to lift up someone, and
this goes back to the economic opportunityaspect, that because of Maslow's hierarchy
and the things that you just need tosurvive on your daily life, if there is
(21:34):
a certain amount of cushion that you'reable to give somebody when a crisis
occurs, it lowers the stress level byproviding food, potentially shelter.
Or some other necessities in
(21:57):
order to then go out and spendmore time on trying to find a job
to put yourself back on your feet.
And this is one of thosechicken-and-the-egg situations
in child care, and obviously,our CED group talks a lot about
child care issues and the economy.
But if you can help somebody get backon their feet by paying for child
(22:21):
care before they have a job thatgives them an opportunity to go look
for a job, then after a crisis hits,they're going to be more successful.
So it's a mind shift on howyou help individuals to get
them back on their feet.
It could be because of a job loss, itcould be because of a natural disaster
(22:45):
or something else that is occurring.
Steve Odland (22:48):
We talked earlier about the shifting political landscape.
Do you see companies changingtheir messaging in citizenship
as a result of that?
And/or do you advise companies to change?
Jeff Hoffman (23:01):
Yes, it's a big conversation that companies have been
having since the inauguration and theexecutive orders, and frankly, who
are the customers of the companies.
There are a lot of companies out therethat are federal contractors, and there
are a lot that aren't federal contractors.
And there are certain things that,if you're a federal contractor,
(23:23):
you must do, where it's achoice for a company that isn't.
And wording is certainly a part ofthat and how you talk about your
programs, but it's not even just thewords because we were talking about
AI and how you can use AI to actuallylook at websites and see certain
(23:47):
words that companies might be using.
It's really about the programs themselvesand who you're helping out there.
And oftentimes, it's those marginalizedcommunities who are the ones that
you're going to help, whether you callit out or not, because those are the
ones who are in need in a particularcommunity that you're working.
Steve Odland (24:11):
Yeah.
So just wrapping up then, any otheradvice that you have in this whole
area of philanthropy for 2025?
Jeff Hoffman (24:19):
I think probably one of the biggest things that we continue
to struggle with is impact measurementbecause, many people have said, if you
can't measure it, why are you doing it?
But at the same time, sometimes ourinputs into society are collective.
We're doing this withother partners out there.
(24:41):
So it can be very difficult to say, "Byus giving a grant of X, it is enabling
this many children to read at gradelevel," because parents are involved,
teachers are involved, after-schoolprograms are involved besides a
program that, say, a company is helpingspecifically to get that child to read.
(25:06):
So that is an issue we'realways grappling with.
And I think what we're gettingcloser is deciding, at the end of
the day, what can we take credit for?
And what can we say that we werepart of a collective effort to do?
So I think we have—well, I don'twant to say we have clarity
(25:26):
yet, but we're getting closer.
But the other part is returnon investment to the company.
We're really looking at the ROI,whether it be the recruitment
and retention issues, the brandequity piece that is attributed
to being a good corporate citizen.
And the term that some people like, somepeople don't like, on social license
(25:48):
to operate and how, If you're a goodneighbor, and you invest in a community
more likely to be able to expand yourplant or build a new building in a
location that might not necessarily wantthe additional density traffic, et cetera.
But if you can demonstrate, no,they're a good neighbor, they're really
involved in the community, the employeesvolunteer we, we want them to be there.
(26:11):
So these all have bottom-line benefitsto the company, and we're spending more
time on, we've identified most of whatthese are, but we're trying to figure out
how can we actually calculate that value.
Steve Odland (26:29):
Lots of great advice, Jeff, as always.
Thanks for being with us today.
Jeff Hoffman.
Jeff Hoffman (26:35):
Thanks, Steve.
Happy to be here.
Steve Odland (26:37):
And thanks to all of you for listening to C-Suite Perspectives.
I'm Steve Odland, and this series has beenbrought to you by The Conference Board.
Welcome to C-Suite Perspectives, a signature
(00:02):
series by The Conference Board.
I'm Steve Odland from The ConferenceBoard and the host of this podcast series.
And in today's discussion, we're goingto talk about corporate philanthropy.
Does it result in meaningful,lasting social impact?
What is it?
Why do people do it?
And joining me today, an experton corporate philanthropy, is Jeff
(00:23):
Hoffman, who's the interim ESG Centerleader here at The Conference Board
and formerly an executive with Disney.
Jeff, welcome.
Jeff Hoffman (00:32):
Hello, Steve.
Happy to be here with you today.
Steve Odland (00:35):
I'm so happy that you're here.
And this whole area of, we said corporatephilanthropy, but it's really under
a broader umbrella of CSR, corporatesocial responsibility, corporate
citizenship, corporate philanthropy.
These are all kind of interchangeableterms, but can you help us
ground us in those terms to beginwith, and what means what here?
Jeff Hoffman (00:57):
Good.
Your guess is as good as mine.
I'm actually kidding on that.
But it is .a challenge.
So many of the roles and titleswithin corporations are very clear.
If you're the chief communicationsofficer, you know what that role is.
If you're the chief human resourcesofficer, you know what that role is.
(01:20):
But with corporate social responsibility,corporate citizenship, philanthropy,
social impact, community relations,it goes on and on, different
companies define it in different ways.
But as you introduce us withcorporate philanthropy, I think
that's probably the clearest.
It's our root.
(01:40):
The Conference Board has been involvedwith corporate philanthropy and helping
companies since 1943, during World War II.
And it has broadened since then,basically, to symbolize the work that the
company does in society, whether it be inthe communities where its employees live
(02:02):
and work, where the operations are, butreally how it works to create a better
surrounding, a better neighborhood,for those in the areas it serves.
Steve Odland (02:16):
Yeah.
It's essentially, when you think of theseroles in companies, and you mentioned
that they're all sort of different titles,they're all external-facing, right?
Jeff Hoffman (02:25):
Correct.
Steve Odland (02:25):
And so if you think about the multiple constituency
world—customers, employees, owners,community environment—it's not the chief
customer role, it's not the chief employeerole, it's not the chief owner role, but
it's really the chief external-facingrole as it relates to community
and the environment, essentially.
Jeff Hoffman (02:46):
Correct.
Yeah.
Steve Odland (02:48):
And so how do these people think about the strategy of
the corporation—and every industryand corporation is different and has a
different customer focus and so forth.
How do you think about that strategyversus your external CSR strategy?
Jeff Hoffman (03:06):
Yeah.
It's a good question.
And most, and I will say most, companiestoday tend to align their community
strategy with their business strategy,which often ties into what their
products are, their goods and services,what are their core competencies.
Philanthropy is so much morethan just writing a check
(03:28):
to a nonprofit or a charity.
It's how you bring the whole company intothe community to help be a problem solver.
If you look at, you mentioned my 30years at Disney, just in the simplest
term, the core ideas for Disney arefamilies, and it's about bringing families
together and having magical experiences.
(03:51):
But using that core competency tohelp children in need, and sometimes,
these are sick children with horriblediseases that they are fighting.
How can Disney help put a smile on achild's face, which actually ties into
the psychosocial aspect of healing?
And you can look at that withjust about any type of company.
(04:13):
What can they bring to the table?
I think of one of our members who is inthe insurance business, and the stability
and the work that they're doing aroundintergenerational wealth in communities
and insurance and life insurance.
And this particular piececan be a part of that.
(04:36):
Something that they have the expertiseto do that other companies don't.
You're most effective, I think, when youactually do align your community work
with your business strategy and values.
Steve Odland (04:49):
Now, some companies have people on staff that
are somewhere in the business,somewhere in the organization.
Others have a separate501(c)(3) foundation that
they've set up to manage this.
Do you have a point of viewon best practices there?
Jeff Hoffman (05:06):
Yeah, I do.
Foundations, corporate foundations, wereestablished in the '50s, when there was
a change in regulations about for-profitcompanies being able to give profits away.
Long story—I will save you that—but agood portion of companies today, even
(05:28):
that have foundations, primarily dotheir giving through corporate dollars.
It gives you a lot more flexibility out inthe world, especially if you want to tie
your giving to actual company initiatives.
There's something called self-dealingthat those with foundations have to worry
(05:49):
about to ensure that anything that they'redoing through the foundation does not
inure benefit back to the company itself.
So to avoid that, using corporate dollarsgives you more flexibility with what I
was talking about—how you can combine yourcore competency with those giving dollars
and then plus your employee volunteering.
(06:11):
Versus if it comes through thefoundation, you have to have an arm's
length distance from the company onhow you talk about it, which can be a
challenge, depending on what solutionsyou're working to solve in the community.
Steve Odland (06:26):
Yeah.
So you really start with, it soundslike, with the corporate strategy in mind.
Jeff Hoffman (06:34):
Yes.
Steve Odland (06:34):
And then link that and interweave that
into your community approach.
Now, what trends, you mentioned acouple, but what other trends do you see
here in 2025 for corporate philanthropy?
Jeff Hoffman (06:46):
I think the big thing is, The Conference Board overall
does the C-Suite Outlook every year.
And at the very end of the year in ourcorporate citizenship work with our
members and CSR executives, we do apulse check on what they're seeing, both
in society and in the business of whatthe year ahead is going to look like.
(07:12):
And interestingly the two matchedas far as the question of, what
social areas does the company planto focus on in the coming year?
And one was economic opportunity,and the other was education.
So when you talk about thatalignment, I'm always very pleased
to see when these two things arealigning versus being divergent.
Steve Odland (07:37):
Yeah.
And this kind of comes under theheadline, sometimes, of DEI, which
is diversity, equity, and inclusion,because some of the corporate
philanthropy is focused on areas thatare linked to a company's DEI strategy.
Now there's been a hugeamount of recent DEI pushback.
How is that impactingcorporate philanthropy?
Jeff Hoffman (08:01):
Quite a bit, because even though, in the simplest terms,
DE&I tends to be focused moreinternally and corporate citizenship
externally, there is a crossover area.
And then you do have theemployee volunteering piece.
And sometimes how, within the DE&Ispace, the employee resource groups,
(08:23):
oftentimes as groups, will govolunteer in the community based on
what the subject matter is or thefocus of that employee resource group.
So there is some crossover area.
I think when we take the buzzwordsout, and this is where I think focusing
(08:43):
on the economic opportunity, of whicheducation is a piece, along with a
lot of other components to it, isa way to take the buzzwords out and
really to continue to focus and helpin the communities where you operate
in and where your employees live in.
The makeup of thosecommunities is all different.
(09:06):
So basically, we're helping tofloat all boats at this point.
So it is still, in the long run,helping those who need it most
without targeting a specific group.
Steve Odland (09:21):
Yeah, now there's also been geographic shifts, I think.
The rule of thumb for a long time hasbeen that the majority of corporate
giving should be in the communitywhere the headquarters is or where
the predominance of employees are.
Then it shifted for a while to bea distributed approach to try to
hit as many communities as possible,wherever people have manufacturing
(09:44):
plants or any kind of a presence.
But, as companies get bigger,it's really hard to sprinkle
that and get any kind of impact.
What are the current trends on this?
Jeff Hoffman (09:55):
Do less, not necessarily resource-wise, but instead of a
scattershot approach to organizationsin a community, even in your
corporate headquarters, what arethe organizations that you, because
of your core competencies, canhelp make the biggest impact on?
(10:17):
And then, that's in headquarterswhere you have major operations.
I think where it gets challenging iswhen you are a major multinational
corporation, you have employeesspread out all over the world.
You might have tens of thousands ofpeople in certain centralized spots.
But then you might have an office in,pick a country, with five people in it.
(10:41):
Obviously, you aren't going to havea full-time staff person focusing
on the community when you only havefive people in the entire country.
And this is where the employeevolunteerism piece can come
in in volunteering grants.
So basically, then it is supportingthose employees in the work in
the community where normallyyou would not have a presence.
(11:04):
The other piece I want to mentionon what you said, and this is also a
challenge because, if you look at thestakeholders that you mentioned—obviously,
the employees are huge in thecommunities, the consumer—is how do you
demonstrate that you're a good corporatecitizenship to the consumer where you
(11:28):
actually have zero operating presencein the area where those consumers are?
And that's where some of the nationaland the global initiatives that might
have very physical execution in areaswhere you have a lot of employees, but
yet, because of a national relationshipwith an organization—take Boys and
(11:51):
Girls Clubs of America, for instance—youcan still demonstrate that you are
caring, even though you might notbe supporting a specific club in the
neighborhood where you have customers.
Steve Odland (12:05):
We're hearing that a lot of companies are pivoting on their corporate
philanthropy in this environment.
You can't disaggregate thesocial environment from
the political environment.
The Conference Board is totallynonpolitical, nonpartisan, of course.
But we are, in this country, we'rea divided country, roughly half
and half in terms of our views.
(12:26):
We've just gone through an election, andyou've got a lot of change happening.
How do you see companies reacting tothis sort of changed environment as it
relates to their corporate philanthropy?
Jeff Hoffman (12:39):
It's a tough one, Steve.
That's where, a lot of your podcastsand what we're seeing come out of The
Conference Board, is staying true toyour values, but at the same time,
being pragmatic with what's happeningon the world and knowing that you do
have various stakeholders that you needto address their issues and concerns.
(13:02):
And I think that's where, whether it'sgoing back to say, something such as
economic opportunity, is how you goabout doing things in the communities
that would be more central or lesscontroversial in this divided world.
And there are certainly ways of doing itwhere you're staying true to who you are.
(13:25):
But yet, knowing that thereare issues that, if you do this
particular issue, you're going tohave people against you or vice versa.
And I don't think we want to get tothe point where people are thinking
of companies as a Red company or aBlue company versus a company that is
providing goods and services for everyone.
(13:46):
Again, I think if you stay to yourcore competency and the work that
you do through your philanthropy,it will help guide you to stay away
from the areas on either side thatcould be viewed as controversial.
Steve Odland (14:01):
Yeah.
So I think, the watchword here is caution,and be aware of what's happening in the
external environment, and make sure thatyour strategies are constantly updated
and consistent with your core values ofyour organization, but not inconsistent
with what's happening out there.
Jeff Hoffman (14:19):
Yep.
Yep.
Absolutely.
Steve Odland (14:22):
Yeah.
We're talking about corporatephilanthropy in 2025.
We're going to take a shortbreak and be right back.
Welcome back to C-Suite Perspectives.
I'm your host, Steve Odland, from TheConference Board, and I'm joined today
by Jeff Hoffman, who is the interimESG leader at The Conference Board.
You're an interim leader here, butyou've been a leader in corporate
(14:43):
philanthropy and citizenship for decadesand decades, Jeff, so no better expert
to talk about this kind of stuff.
Now, we were talking aboutpivoting in the new year to stay
to your values, stay true to yourcorporate strategies, but also, be
aware of the external environment.
What do you see as the mostimpactful emerging approaches for
(15:07):
driving societal impact in 2025?
Jeff Hoffman (15:10):
AI.
We talk a lot about AI.
There are excitingopportunities for companies.
We often look at AI.
It can also be a scary new tool.
But let me give you a couple ofexamples where AI are helping companies
to be smarter about their giving.
(15:31):
Credit card companies, for instance.
Credit card companies,they have a lot of data.
And when you aggregate that, soyou're taking away, putting aside
any concerns on privacy, theyknow who is buying what, where.
And what we're finding is again,when we talk about economic
(15:54):
opportunity, food security iscertainly one of the pillars in that.
You can tell where people arebuying food and how far away
it is from where they live.
So you can actually determine, usingAI and going through all of the data,
determine what we call food deserts.
(16:17):
And this provides an opportunity,whether is, oh, we have food banks
that are next to supermarkets—notsaying that they don't, they're
still serving a need—versus puttinga food bank in what is a food desert.
Or is there an opportunity fora supermarket chain to actually
(16:41):
go in and establish in thatcommunity and meet a need?
And then it goes to the economicopportunity aspect, too, because it's
providing goods and services to wherethe consumer is in areas that, sometimes,
companies might not have thought asviable customers from a spend perspective.
(17:03):
So that's just one example.
With AI, we've also seen it in thingssuch as prenatal care and care with
infants, as far as areas where thingsthat often you might take for granted.
For the mother, as soon as the mother'sgiven birth and what the new infant
(17:25):
needs, you're seeing where thoseproducts are not being purchased.
Or even, in a regional area, and thenwhen you look at it from a health
standpoint, it's OK, in order toensure that these infants are going
to grow into being healthy toddlers,children, and then adults, this is
(17:48):
an area that needs to be addressed.
So I think that's just two examplesright now of how AI—often, companies have
lots of data to address certain issues.
And one of the big things that wetalk about these days is, obviously,
we talk about money, we talk aboutgiving product, and all of that.
(18:08):
But the other thing is, how do youdonate aggregated data to help address
issues that are out there—again, makingsure, we're all concerned about privacy,
that we do this through a privacy lens.
Steve Odland (18:25):
It's interesting because some companies believe that their
philanthropy needs to be direct to theend user, the end consumer, the end need.
Others say no, you should really gothrough intermediaries, 501(c)(3s), not
for profits who are closer to the needand the community and the expertise.
And part of the reason for that was thatthey didn't really have a great way to
(18:49):
get to and manage down to the end need.
But what I hear you saying is, with AIthere, that might be an easier task now.
But do you have a point of viewon that, going direct versus
going through intermediaries?
Jeff Hoffman (19:03):
I do, and it's because of taxes.
If you give to a 501(c)(3) nonprofit,one, it's a tax deduction for the company.
But if you give directly toindividuals, one, you aren't
getting a tax deduction for it.
It may or may not be a business expense,depending on how you look at it.
(19:27):
But for the individual receiving it,there are tax implications for that, and
it can be viewed as income by the IRS.
And probably the best examplethat we often hear about is
when there are disasters.
And is the disaster declared by thepresident as a national disaster?
(19:50):
Or sadly, does your house burn downin the middle of the street, not
part of a bigger disaster situation?
Not to say that we want tosee the big fires that happen
out there or other disasters.
But yet, when it's a federal disaster,you can give aid directly to an
individual without that tax implicationversus, sadly, if your house just burns
(20:15):
down on its own, you better be goingthrough an intermediary organization, or
you're going to be paying taxes on thatgift that you receive from a company.
Steve Odland (20:27):
OK, so it sounds like it still is the right way to go, even
with AI, through these not for profits.
But that means that you really needto be thinking through partnerships
rather than waiting until somethinghappens and then trying to ring
up a not for profit, correct?
Jeff Hoffman (20:48):
Yeah.
And there are really goodorganizations out there.
In fact, one of the organizationswe're partnering with for the upcoming
Corporate Responsibility Summit, that'swhat they do, not only in the United
States, but they do this around the world.
And they are experimentingmore with the direct payment
(21:09):
option, which is interesting.
Steve Odland (21:12):
Tell us more about that.
Jeff Hoffman (21:14):
There's a thought that when you're trying to lift up someone, and
this goes back to the economic opportunityaspect, that because of Maslow's hierarchy
and the things that you just need tosurvive on your daily life, if there is
(21:34):
a certain amount of cushion that you'reable to give somebody when a crisis
occurs, it lowers the stress level byproviding food, potentially shelter.
Or some other necessities in
(21:57):
order to then go out and spendmore time on trying to find a job
to put yourself back on your feet.
And this is one of thosechicken-and-the-egg situations
in child care, and obviously,our CED group talks a lot about
child care issues and the economy.
But if you can help somebody get backon their feet by paying for child
(22:21):
care before they have a job thatgives them an opportunity to go look
for a job, then after a crisis hits,they're going to be more successful.
So it's a mind shift on howyou help individuals to get
them back on their feet.
It could be because of a job loss, itcould be because of a natural disaster
(22:45):
or something else that is occurring.
Steve Odland (22:48):
We talked earlier about the shifting political landscape.
Do you see companies changingtheir messaging in citizenship
as a result of that?
And/or do you advise companies to change?
Jeff Hoffman (23:01):
Yes, it's a big conversation that companies have been
having since the inauguration and theexecutive orders, and frankly, who
are the customers of the companies.
There are a lot of companies out therethat are federal contractors, and there
are a lot that aren't federal contractors.
And there are certain things that,if you're a federal contractor,
(23:23):
you must do, where it's achoice for a company that isn't.
And wording is certainly a part ofthat and how you talk about your
programs, but it's not even just thewords because we were talking about
AI and how you can use AI to actuallylook at websites and see certain
(23:47):
words that companies might be using.
It's really about the programs themselvesand who you're helping out there.
And oftentimes, it's those marginalizedcommunities who are the ones that
you're going to help, whether you callit out or not, because those are the
ones who are in need in a particularcommunity that you're working.
Steve Odland (24:11):
Yeah.
So just wrapping up then, any otheradvice that you have in this whole
area of philanthropy for 2025?
Jeff Hoffman (24:19):
I think probably one of the biggest things that we continue
to struggle with is impact measurementbecause, many people have said, if you
can't measure it, why are you doing it?
But at the same time, sometimes ourinputs into society are collective.
We're doing this withother partners out there.
(24:41):
So it can be very difficult to say, "Byus giving a grant of X, it is enabling
this many children to read at gradelevel," because parents are involved,
teachers are involved, after-schoolprograms are involved besides a
program that, say, a company is helpingspecifically to get that child to read.
(25:06):
So that is an issue we'realways grappling with.
And I think what we're gettingcloser is deciding, at the end of
the day, what can we take credit for?
And what can we say that we werepart of a collective effort to do?
So I think we have—well, I don'twant to say we have clarity
(25:26):
yet, but we're getting closer.
But the other part is returnon investment to the company.
We're really looking at the ROI,whether it be the recruitment
and retention issues, the brandequity piece that is attributed
to being a good corporate citizen.
And the term that some people like, somepeople don't like, on social license
(25:48):
to operate and how, If you're a goodneighbor, and you invest in a community
more likely to be able to expand yourplant or build a new building in a
location that might not necessarily wantthe additional density traffic, et cetera.
But if you can demonstrate, no,they're a good neighbor, they're really
involved in the community, the employeesvolunteer we, we want them to be there.
(26:11):
So these all have bottom-line benefitsto the company, and we're spending more
time on, we've identified most of whatthese are, but we're trying to figure out
how can we actually calculate that value.
Steve Odland (26:29):
Lots of great advice, Jeff, as always.
Thanks for being with us today.
Jeff Hoffman.
Jeff Hoffman (26:35):
Thanks, Steve.
Happy to be here.
Steve Odland (26:37):
And thanks to all of you for listening to C-Suite Perspectives.
I'm Steve Odland, and this series has beenbrought to you by The Conference Board.
Popular Podcasts
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com
Cold Case Files: Miami
Joyce Sapp, 76; Bryan Herrera, 16; and Laurance Webb, 32—three Miami residents whose lives were stolen in brutal, unsolved homicides. Cold Case Files: Miami follows award‑winning radio host and City of Miami Police reserve officer Enrique Santos as he partners with the department’s Cold Case Homicide Unit, determined family members, and the advocates who spend their lives fighting for justice for the victims who can no longer fight for themselves.